Sober Words
by BrassHeart
Summary: What happens after Anthony visits Brian? Does the Doctor appear? Does Brian ever find out about River? Spoilers for The Angels Take Manhattan and P.S Slightly AU R&R please? :)


**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who, all rights reserved diddly diddly da**

**A/N: So this is set after '_The Angles Take Manhattan_' and '_P.S_' so if you hadn't watched them then massive spoliers await you down there. You have been warned :) Enjoy and review if you think it was worth it, thanks! Also a bit of River/11th**

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**Sober Words**

It has been a week since Amy and Rory were zapped back in time to live out their lives in New York. The paradox they created killed all the Angles in Manhattan expect for a lone survivor which it send Rory back in time – early 20th century or so – and Amy simply couldn't live without her Centurion. It was always them together, the Doctor reminisced later, The Girl Who Waited and The Last Centurion.

The Doctor had all the time in the universe but for once he felt as though he shouldn't dawdle. He collected the scraps of his sanity and added a setting to River's Vortex Manipulator so she could travel back in time to see them for the last time and hand them her book. She deserved that, they were her parents after all: despite all the timey-wimey-stuff. For now he had some time to sort the words in his head, to figure out how to explain to Brian Williams that his son and daughter-in-law would never be coming home.

The Doctor typed in the co-ordinates for Ponds' residence or rather _Williams_' residence; for any onlooker it would seem it was only a week since the blue box appeared at _Williams_' doorsteps. He repeated the words in his head as he brought the TARDIS out of the Vortex, remembering to use breaks only when landing and otherwise leave them off. He didn't feel the noise would suit his sunken mood and Sexy knew her humming wouldn't make a difference, probably would just annoy him, so she kept still.

The bow tie wearing alien leaned heavily against the consoles of his TARDIS, the quiet TARDIS, the empty TARDIS... He started to feel the loneliness, now more than ever, sinking in and felt a sting of anger. He let them die. He didn't usher them into the TARDIS when they escaped the Angels in Winter Quay. He smacked the controls as the angry tears threatened to spill. The TARDIS hummed in disapproval. He looked up at celling and stroked the clear cylinder.

"I'm sorry..." his words were weighted and ancient. And for the first time in a long while he felt _old_.

He turned slowly and walked down the steps, slipping on his overcoat as he stepped down to the door. He didn't run and his childish grin wasn't on his young face. He just felt _old_. So many people he had sworn to protect were gone and he was all at fault. Rose, Martha, Donna and now his Ponds. The worst thing was that he knew they were happy, but he couldn't be happy with them and that made his hearts ache.

The TARDIS doors shut behind him and the cool air whisked around him, stroking his cheeks and ruffling his hair. The street was deserted and he slowly made his way down to the bluest of blue doors. Williams' doors, or so they were. He heaved a tired breath and came to stand on the doorstep, hands deep in his pockets and the double staccato of his two hearts was in his ears. He hated this already, maybe he could just turn around and leave? Maybe the old man never noticed the blue box? However, mid Doctor's pondering the blue door was opened by Brian Williams.

"Doctor," he said with a slight smile.

"Hello Brian," the Doctor greeted the elderly man, not meeting him in the eye.

"Come in, we're just having tea," Brian offered, lifting the mug he was holding so the Doctor could see. The alien stepped into the warm house and gave Brian a questioning look. "'_We_'?" he asked.

Brian smiled a bit, but it was a sad smile and the Doctor thought that he knew what happened.

"I'm sorry... I tried -"

"It's alright," Brian cut him off. The Doctor was confused.

"Of course it's not, you'll never see them again!" he looked desperately at the man who started walking toward the kitchen at the end of the hall. The Doctor followed him hotly.

"I mightn't but I'll never blame you," they entered the kitchen, already occupied by a woman he recognised and a man he didn't, both drinking tea. "They died together and they were happy and he," he went behind the man, "He's the living proof of that." Brian smiled and the man stood up to shake Doctor's hand.

" It's a pleasure to meet you Doctor, I heard _so _many stories about you when I was a child." The man's voice was laced in a thick New York accent and his dark eyes crinkled happily as if he met an old, _old _friend.

The Doctor shook his hand and whilst still holding onto him, scanned him with his sonic (you can never be too careful).

River stood up and placed a hand on Doctor's shoulder, sensing he was just a little confused she took it in her hands, "Doctor this is Anthony, Amy and Rory adopted him back in 1946." She pronounced each syllable carefully, trying to make the Doctor understand, she knew he was blaming himself. And she was blaming him just in slightest, but she pushed that thought into the back of her mind. The Doctor only mustered a soft breath of '_oh_', his eyes were fixed upon the ageing man before him. The Time Lord looked tired.

River sat him down at the table and passed him the mug of tea (they obviously knew he was coming), and started explaining how Amy and Rory lived in New York, how they adopted and how her book was to be published in late sixties. Doctor's head was fallen and he stared into the milky amber below him, he couldn't bare to look at any of them. He was shocked and hurting all over, and that pinch of anger was there again. River stopped talking and was now sipping tea, silence befell all seated at the table and Doctor looked up slightly.

"Were they happy?" he asked quietly, just above a whisper and looked at Anthony with an ancient emotion.

"Of course they were-!" Brian began but the Doctor didn't look at him. His eyes were fixed at Anthony.

The ageing man took a sip of his tea, pondering. " Most of the time. They missed you," he replied calmly.

The Doctor nodded.

"I'll give you three time to catch up," he stood up and finally looked at Brian. "Thank you for the tea."

That was the last time Brian and Anthony Williams would see the Doctor. Neither minded, they could go about the remainder of their lives quietly.

Anthony was a gardener like Brian, and when both men discovered that, an avid discussion arouse. River took this as a queue and left the two men, leaving Brian a small note explaining how they'd probably never meet again. She then followed the Doctor, _her _Doctor back to the TARDIS an hour after he left. To her surprise he waited, or so it seemed, for her. River approached the TARDIS and softly pushed the door open. She took the comforting smell of the ancient Time Machine and touched the walls, the TARDIS hummed in response.

Then something caught her eye, a dark shape hunched over behind the consoles and River turned to look at him. _Her _Doctor. Crest-fallen and red eyed. His red-rimmed eyes burned holes in the clear TARDIS floor, his arms resting on his legs.

"Sweetie...?" she called out to the now ancient looking man.

He hummed in response, not looking up.

River approached her husband. Heels clicking against the glass floor and when she finally towered above him she stroked his hair. He looked up. Red-rimmed dark eyes met green ones and his arms wrapped themselves around her hips. He pulled her closer to him so she stood in between his long legs and he buried his face in her stomach.

She kept stroking his hair and then after a moment of painful silence she managed to say:

"They _were_ happy, Sweetie."

Another moment of silence.

"But not with us."

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_Fin._


End file.
